


Not So Heartless

by bakanekofan



Category: Kingdom Hearts, X-Men (Movies)
Genre: Everyone Has Issues, Everyone Needs A Hug, Falling In Love, First Meetings, Hate into Love, Love Confessions, M/M, Matchmaking, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-22
Updated: 2016-07-02
Packaged: 2018-02-22 04:08:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2493881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bakanekofan/pseuds/bakanekofan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>King Mickey and Charles Xavier have been friends (via telepathy) for years and come to tell each other about their "problem children." Namely Riku and Logan. The way they see themselves, how they throw themselves into their work and pull away from hands that reach for them... The similarities spark an idea. What if they met? They could realize their own problems in one another and help each other to overcome them. With this in mind, Riku is sent to Xavier's School for the Gifted with a message where he and Logan meet. The rest- well, you'll have to read.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Femisis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Femisis/gifts).



> This pairing was sparked by what was meant to be a crack roleplay, but spawned a very serious relationship (and shipping). Please bear with me as I want to make this realistic, but that makes Logan talk a LOT more than normal. Call it creative liberty.
> 
> Also, I don't own anything. Just saying. Don't sue me.
> 
> This all started because of a roleplay with Femisis, whom this piece is gifted to.

Beginnings are subtle. A quiet hello, casual glances that slowly turn to touching… But there is no such thing as “ordinary” in the lives of Riku and Logan, and the meeting of the two is no exception. Riku had been sent by King Mickey to warn Professor Xavier of the threat of the Heartless, which is why he found himself standing at the door to Xavier’s School for the Gifted. When that door opened, and Riku, in turn, opened his mouth to speak, he was cut off by an angry looking, muscular man with one hell of a bad hair day and a cigar between clenched teeth. “Get out.”

Maintaining composure, Riku replied, “I’m here to see Professor Xavier. Is he in?”

“Get out.” The man repeated, his voice a low, warning growl, “You reek of darkness. I don’t know what you’re up to, but I’m sure it ain’t good. Get out before I make ya.”

Well, that was uncalled for, true as it may be. Riku visibly tensed as he tried to find something appropriate to say, as he was, after all, on a mission given to him by King Mickey, and he fully understood it’s importance. Blessedly, he was spared by a softer, more professional voice that sounded from behind the man. “That is no way to treat a guest, Logan.”

“But Professor-” The man, Logan, began, turning to the source of the voice, but he was silenced immediately.

“All are welcome at Xavier’s School for the Gifted, Logan, you know this well.” The “Professor” warned, and something about those words seemed to quiet Logan, who, begrudgingly, stepped aside. Feeling the presence of another inside his mind, Riku touched his forehead, trying to force it out. “I see,” Said the odd, bald man in a wheelchair who had somehow managed to get Logan to move aside, though how he did was beyond Riku. “You’ve come a long way, haven’t you, Riku? Please, come in.”

Though he was a bit uneasy, having had his mind probed and now being addressed by his name though he had never introduced himself, Riku set his personal feelings on the matter aside and nodded slightly, following the Professor to what he could only assume was his office. “You must be Professor Xavier.”

“Clever boy,” Somehow, this didn’t feel condescending, in spite of the insincere smile offered to Riku. “My name is Charles Xavier, I am the founder and head of this School, as well as the X-Men.” Gesturing to Logan, who, to Riku’s distaste, had come along with them, he added, “This is Logan, one of my X-Men. Please excuse his earlier rudeness, he is quite protective of this place and the children who call it home.”

Logan huffed indignantly and sat in a corner, sulking with his cigar while Riku and Charles spoke. “I understand,” Riku replied, falling silent for a moment before continuing, “I understand there are many special cases, like him, living here, is that fair to say?”

“Mutants, yes.” Charles murmured, “This school is a haven for all mutants, and Logan is certainly no exception, nor am I.”

“Right…” A pause. “I have been sent here by my King, King Mickey, to warn you of a danger not of this world. Creatures known as the Heartless. They spend their days stealing hearts from those who have them, in turn creating more Heartless… And then there are those who wish to control the Heartless. We have reason to suspect that your facility may be a prime target for these individuals.”

Bored, and not really buying into Riku’s story, Logan asked, “So what do the Heartless want with us?”

“Your hearts, if you’d been listening, you would have heard that.” Riku replied with a glare at Logan, who was really testing his patience. “But they’re not the ones you have to worry about. Heartless are annoying, but incredibly stupid. It’s those who want to control them that are problematic, and, worse than that, the Nobodies. Don’t laugh.” He added that last bit when he saw Logan’s expression, “Nobodies are no laughing matter. When someone with a strong heart becomes a Heartless, two beings are created from one. First is the Heartless itself, a mindless creature that seeks out hearts to fill the eternal void where their own once was, and second, the Nobody. They’re Heartless, too, but… sentient. Their personalities, appearances, and abilities, reflect those of their “other,” the one who became a Heartless… However, there are Nobodies and people who seek power and darkness, who force Nobodies to become evil, manipulate them into doing their dark bidding, and, without a heart, they have no sense of right and wrong, no remorse for their actions. King Mickey fears that if one of your mutants were to become a Nobody, that we might not be able to stop them. With your powers, they may even be invincible, and if they turned to the darkness, the worlds would be in jeopardy. Unfortunately, fighting them with normal weapons is pointless. Without a Keyblade, they’ll only disappear and pop up somewhere else, and so, the King has prepared a gift for you.” He pulled a device similar to a cell phone out of his pocket and slid it across the desk to the Professor. “This will automatically warn wielders of the Keyblade when there are Heartless in it’s immediate area, and we’ll come to take care of it for you. In the meantime, don’t let the Heartless steal any hearts- defend yourselves, but don’t try to kill them. Defensive maneuvers, not offensive.”

Watching Riku closely, Logan asked, “And how are we supposed to know Heartless from not?”

“You, specifically, should be able to tell by scent alone. If you think I reek of darkness, I can’t imagine you’ll take too kindly to them, but I understand that not everyone has such a keen sense of smell, so for them…” Riku removed from his pocket and placed on the table three photos, one of Shadows, one of the Nobody emblem, and the other of the Heartless emblem. “Anything bearing these emblems, or Shadows, like the ones you see here, are Heartless. Nobodies you can go ahead and kill- that is, if you can manage to do so. The Heartless and Shadows, however, leave to us.” Pausing a moment, Riku returned his gaze to the Professor before adding, “King Mickey also has a personal request for you, Professor Xavier. He understands that you’re a busy man, but if, while using your Cerebro, you happen to come across anything that looks like it might be Heartless activity, he asks that you please report the location to him immediately so the issue can be dealt with.”

Charles nodded politely and affirmed, “Yes, of course. Our goal is the same, after all- peace.” For a time, there was an awkward silence, but eventually, the Professor asked, “Riku, why don’t you stay a while? We have plenty of room, and surely your journey has worn you ragged. Rest here and get your strength back before you return to your king.”

“Professor-” Logan tried, but the telepath was clearly having no part of his protests, and simply held up a hand to silence him.

Riku had to consider this for a moment. It was certainly true that he was exhausted- this was not the first world he had visited today, and the dark portals were dangerous to use en masse as he had been… As much as he wanted to go home, he was fairly certain he had reached his limit, and, strategically speaking, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get to know these people and the place they call home, if it was to be the location of future battles. This way, he could learn who the main targets were, who needed the most protection from the Heartless- who had the strongest hearts. He nodded slightly, “If you wouldn’t mind, I’m afraid my travels have taken their toll on me,” He said finally.

With a gentle smile, the Professor replied, “It’s no trouble at all my boy. Now, if you would, Logan, show Riku to the spare room next to yours, please.”

“That’s Rouge’s room!” Logan growled, glaring daggers at Riku.

“Rouge has lost her powers and will likely not be returning, you know this. Now, please show Riku to that room.” It was clear from the Professor’s tone that no further arguments would be tolerated, so Logan begrudgingly stood and started for his room.

As Riku followed, he studied Logan. There was something familiar about his heart… It reminded him of Sora, faintly, that warmth, the purity… There was no doubt that this heart had been consumed by darkness in the past, and that the darkness still had a steady hold over him, but yet that light still shone through so brightly… So warm…

“This is your room. If you need anything, ask someone else.” Logan grumbled, snapping Riku out of his thoughts, “Hurt anyone here and I won’t hesitate to kill you. I don’t care if you’re the master of the fuckin universe, you fuck with this School, I’ll gut you like a fish, got it?”

“We’re on the same side, you know. I don’t want to see any harm come to these children, either.” Riku pointed out, “I won’t hurt anyone. I’m just here to complete my mission for King Mickey and recover, that’s all.”

Logan didn’t really seem satisfied by this response, but, nonetheless, gestured down the hall, “Kitchen’s down that way, each room has it’s own private bathroom, like I said, if you need anything else, talk to someone who cares.”

“But you care.” Riku blurted out before he could stop himself, “You probably care about this place more than anyone, don’t you? That’s why you try so hard to protect it from everything, even threats that were never really there to begin with.”

Seething, Logan snapped, “I don’t give a damn! I’m just staying here until I figure out where to go next, don’t talk like you know me!”

“I do know you. I can see your heart… You let the darkness in because you think it will help you protect what matters most to you, maybe even protect it from yourself… But you’re wrong, you know. I used to think the same way, but darkness doesn’t hold the answer, it only holds further pain and destruction. The light that you keep buried deep within is far better suited to what you desire than the darkness.” Deciding he’d said enough, Riku stepped into his room and closed the door to take a nice, long bath, leaving Logan to stand outside wondering what the hell he was talking about.

Eventually, Logan, too, retired for the evening, falling unceremoniously into bed and promptly falling asleep, though, as always, his was not a pleasant sleep. There were no dreams, only nightmares of war and death and suffering, only pain. Just as he had the first night he came to Xavier’s, he tossed and turned in his sleep, sheets and blankets entangling him until he could no longer move, only whimper as the nightmares continued to haunt him. Riku had chosen to ignore the noise that woke him at first- the banging against his wall… For all he knew, Logan had a girlfriend and was enjoying her company. But as the banging turned to troubled whimpers, he decided that perhaps he should investigate.

Crawling out of bed in borrowed nightclothes, Riku made his way into Logan’s room to see him struggling in his sheets, a sheen of sweat coating his forehead, furrowed in anguish. “Logan,” He called out, stepping closer, “It’s just a dream, Logan.” The mutant failed to respond, only thrashing about more in his sleep. “Logan.” Finally, Riku was standing beside him, just as Rouge had the night she nearly lost her life to him. He touched the man’s arm lightly, “Logan, wake up.”

Wake up he did, and in an instant, his claws were out and would have gone straight through Riku just as they had Rouge had Riku’s reflexes been a second slower. It took a moment for Logan to regain his composure, his claws sliding back into his skin as he took deep, ragged breaths and uttered a non-committal, “Sorry.”

After calming himself, as near-death experiences tend to cause panic in people, Riku shook his head and asked, “What was that all about? The nightmare?”

 

Logan snorted and rolled over, his back to Riku. “None of your damn business, kid.”

Riku would not be deterred so easily, however, and he sat on the side of Logan’s bed, watching him in the darkness. It was strange- normally he wouldn’t care so much, especially for a stranger, but that warmth… “Is it like this every night?”

“Has been for as long as I can remember.” Logan mumbled, “Dreams about wars I don’t even remember taking part in, faces I know I should recognize but just can’t seem to place or give a name to.” When this was met by silence, he explained, “I have amnesia. I can hardly remember anything that’s happened to me since… Oh, I don’t know, probably around twenty years ago. I don’t know how old I am, I don’t know my name, I don’t know if I have any family or friends I’ve left behind… I’ve tried to find out more about myself, but the little bit I do remember, I wish I could forget again. Dying… I should have just stayed dead. I don’t even remember what it was that brought me back.” He looked at Riku and added, “You talk about light, my light… I don’t even know if it’s there, I don’t even know what it is, you know that? That’s how damn damaged I am. I don’t know what you’re trying to do, if you think you can ‘fix’ me somehow, but I’m beyond repair. Just give up and leave me alone.”

Shaking his head, Riku replied, “I can’t do that. It’s not about me trying to fix you, if you don’t learn to manage the darkness in your heart, it will consume you, and you’ll become a heartless yourself. All other implications of that aside, it would be a real hassle for me to have to kill your Nobody.” Sighing, he continued, “The light isn’t gone. Even in the darkest depths, there’s always a light. Maybe you can’t see it, maybe you’ve closed your eyes and turned away from it, but it’s there, and it’ll find you again, if you believe in it. I know how that sounds, but it’s the truth. If it managed to find me… there’s still hope for you, too.”

“What the hell are you going on about, kid?”

“Hmph. I may be a child, but I’ve experienced far more than most do in a lifetime.” Taking this as an invitation to keep talking, he settled on the edge of Logan’s bed, much to the latter’s disgust, and went on, “I… I tried to kill my best friend. Several times. I listened to the sugar-coated words of a witch and fell into the depths of depravity…” Clenching his fists in his borrowed nightclothes, Riku exhaled deeply- it was still difficult to talk about. “But he never gave up on me, and I don’t think, deep in my heart, I ever gave up on him, either. I knew he would save me, that’s why I could never bring myself to keep fighting him. If I’d really given up, I would have fought him to the death. That’s what bad guys do, isn’t it? But I didn’t. I left, every time, and every time, he came after me, just like I knew he would. Such is the persistence of light. Have you ever noticed how, even when you’re far from it, you can always see light? Like the stars- you know they’re so far away, but you can still see them up there.” He raised his head to look at the ceiling, as if he could see the stars of distant worlds through it. “Yet… You never see black holes, do you? From a distance, you don’t see the darkness, you only see the light. That’s what I see when I look at you.” He returned his full attention to Logan once more, “I don’t see a black hole. I see a star, burning bright in the night sky. The darkness wants to cloud it over, but it just can’t seem to… Yet. Don’t let it, Logan, I’ve been there, and it isn’t what you might think. I was never afraid of the dark before, you know? Actually, I really liked it. When I’d take a shower, I’d turn the lights off so there was only a little nightlight on, and it always felt so warm and safe. I never imagined that true darkness could be any different. To be floating through a sea of darkness… Wouldn’t that feel just as warm? Like being back in the womb… But it isn’t. It’s cold, and creatures lurk in the shadows, voices… Voices make you do things you previously thought yourself incapable of and all you can do is watch, but you can’t really /see/ anything, only feel what you’re doing. Then the hallucinations start. Deprived of sensation, your skin starts to crawl, but in such darkness, you can’t even see if anything’s really there or if it’s all in your mind, so you scratch at yourself until you bleed, pull at your hair, scream in frustration but no one can hear you. No one but the voices, and they only laugh at your madness. Remind you of your sins and tell you that you deserve it for what you’ve done, call you a monster and eat away at your will until there’s nothing left but to give in to the darkness completely. It’s… a nightmare, one you can never forget and never undo, that affects the people around you. This school and everyone in it, you’ll tear out their hearts and feast upon them with no remorse. That’s what darkness is.”

 

Logan was quiet for a moment before laughing softly, “Well I guess I really am meant for darkness, then.” Riku’s head snapped in his direction at the suggestion. “You said, ‘bad guys fight to the death,’ right? That’s how I've fought, for as long as I can remember. Well, no… Not when I was fighting for money. That was different. Rough ‘em up a little and send ‘em on their way. The woman I loved… I killed her. I stabbed her through the heart, just like you said, and I held her in my arms as she….” He couldn't even finish his sentence, it was such an upsetting topic, anything more that he tried to say came out as just a strangled cry.

Riku’s expression softened and he shook his head again, “But you regret it, don't you? And I'm betting you didn't do it because you wanted to, either.”

“She begged me,” Logan murmured, “She begged me to stop her, and I was the only one that could get close enough to- I had to… I had to do something, but I still should have…”

“Then there was nothing you could have done. I don’t claim to know the woman you speak of, but you said ‘stop her.’ It sounds to me like she was the one that had turned to the darkness, and you saved her from it in the only way you knew how. That’s heroic, not monstrous. Heroes save people, monsters kill for fun or personal gain.” Riku pointed out plainly, but gently.

“Jean had killed the Professor… Or at least, killed his body… And Scott, too, her husband.” Logan fell quiet, then. It was perhaps even more painful for him to talk about Scott than it was to talk about Jean. True, the two of them hadn't really gotten along at first, but after Jean’s “death,” everything had changed. They were no longer rivals, but rather two men forced into the same boat. The woman they had both loved was gone, and who else could they cling to but one another? When he had suggested that perhaps it was time for both of them to move on, Logan had taken the rejection personally, because he had truly believed that they might be able to find peace with one another… But Scott clearly had no interest in that. Regardless, it was in the past, and there was nothing to be done about it now but stew silently.

Unfortunately for Logan, Riku was far too perceptive to fail to notice the change in the air. “It was him you really loved, wasn’t it?” His tone was neither teasing nor judgemental, but almost sympathetic.

Before he could stop himself, Logan muttered, “Yeah…” Realizing his mistake, he quickly added, “I mean, he and I were good friends after Jean’s…. Well, her initial ‘death.’”

Smirking, Riku shook his head, “You didn't love him as a friend. You wanted to be with him, didn’t you? Truthfully, you had always felt closer to him, but because there was a beautiful woman standing between you, you turned your affections on her instead, but once she was out of the way, you saw the opportunity to finally have him to yourself and maybe you even went for it, but he was loyal to her ‘till the end.”

“Sounds like you’re speaking from experience.” Logan commented idly.

That one sentence was all it took. Riku immediately got to his feet and marched to the door without a word. Once settled back in their own beds, both men found themselves struggling with the truth of their situations. At what point did friendship become love? If things had been different, could they really have been together? Or was it all one-sided fantasies and misplaced emotions? They would never learn the answers to these questions, and that, perhaps, is what hurt the most, and what kept either of them from sleeping the rest of that evening.


	2. Chapter 2

Come morning, two exhausted men met in the kitchen of Xavier’s School for the Gifted shortly after the sun began to rise. Even the children were still asleep, but having been kept awake by their thoughts, Logan and Riku found themselves sitting across from one another as dawn broke, drinking coffee in relative silence. In an attempt to break it, Riku tried, “You couldn’t sleep either, huh?” All he got was a grunt in response, but it was fairly obvious to anyone with half a mind that Logan hadn’t slept either. Still, he wasn’t going to test his luck until a few minutes later when the sound of an electric wheelchair caught his attention.

“My, aren’t we up early this morning. This isn’t like you, Logan.” Professor Xavier commented all too cheerfully as he invited himself to a cup of coffee. Logan mumbled something unintelligible in response, but the message was plain: he wasn’t pleased to be awake. “And Riku, you don’t look any less exhausted than you were yesterday.”

 

“I couldn’t sleep.” Riku confessed, adding quickly, “My mind was racing.”

“Around thoughts of your boyfriend.” Logan supplied from behind his mug of coffee.

Rolling his eyes, Riku retorted immediately, “Like yours wasn’t in a similar state.”

Positively delighted, Charles stated, “Well, you two seem to be getting on swimmingly.”

Both having evidently forgotten the man was in the room, Riku and Logan tore their glares away from one another and gazed out the window, flustered, replying in unison, “As if.”

Laughing musically, Storm stepped into the kitchen, already fully dressed, and began pulling out ingredients for pancakes, “Honestly, Logan, I haven’t seen you this in-tune with someone since-”

 

“Shut up.” Logan cut in, abruptly standing and leaving his half-drunk coffee behind as he left in a hurry.

“Don’t mind him.” Kitty advised as she phased through a wall into the kitchen, “He’s had his undies in a bunch ever since his friend died.”

 

“You’re joking. He’s always been like that.” Storm protested with an amused chuckle at the half-awake Riku’s reaction to a person walking through a wall.

Kitty seemed to consider this for a moment before recalling, “He wasn’t so intolerable when Rogue, Scott, and Jean were around. Having all three of them gone is just hell for him.”

“Logan always has been rather bitter,” Charles mused, “But you are correct that the presence of certain people seems to ease his nerves.” He caught Riku’s gaze as he said this, and held it for a moment, adding with an unsettling smile, “But surely we can all relate to that.”

Riku nodded slightly and glanced back out the window. Sure, he could relate. He always felt better when Sora, Kairi, or King Mickey were around, and he was honestly afraid to think of what might become of him if he were to lose one of them forever. What a horrifying thought… And now that he was considering it, putting himself in Logan’s shoes, could he have done what Logan did? If Kairi turned to the darkness, if she absolutely had to be stopped… If she had killed Sora… Unthinkable. He shook the disturbing thoughts from his mind and downed the rest of his coffee. “He’s not a bad guy.” Riku said finally, “He’s just been through a lot.”

There was that creepy smile of Xavier’s again. “The two of you have quite a bit in common, Riku.”

“Huh?” Riku narrowed his eyes, “What do you know about me?”

“Only what your King has divulged in our conversations.” Charles replied honestly, “In truth, we have spoken telepathically quite a few times in the past.”

“King Mickey… talks about me?” Then, upon realizing, “He can use telepathy?!” For a moment, the concept seemed absurd, but then Riku recalled a time in Castle Oblivion when he had more or less hallucinated the mouse king, but it had felt so real… At the time, he thought it must have been a spell, but perhaps... 

“He speaks quite highly of you and your friends, Sora and Kairi.” Charles replied, confirming for Riku that either Charles had been deeper in Riku’s mind than anticipated or he had, in fact, spoken with King Mickey.

Still, Riku was curious to test the man’s knowledge, and asked, “So why send me if he could just use telepathy?”

“He is a busy man, you understand.” Charles reminded, furrowing his brow in a familiar fashion, not unlike the manner the King himself used when deeply concentrating or upset, “Besides that, not many are willing to accept a telepathic message as truth. Most question their sanity when they hear other voices in their heads. In order to ensure that his message was received with full attention, he needed a representative to speak with the recipients directly. Because you can travel more easily than using a Gummi Ship and in most worlds you are far more… relatable and intelligent than Donald and Goofy, who are far too busy with their own duties to do this in any case, so you were chosen for the job.” After a brief pause, the professor said, “But nevermind that now, you are free to stay here as long as you would like, Riku.”

“In fact, I was kinda hoping you’d stay for a while,” King Mickey said as that same almost holographic projection of him appeared on the kitchen table.

“King Mickey!” Riku greeted enthusiastically, suddenly very much awake, though perhaps that was just the coffee speaking. “I didn’t know you were a telepath!” He looks up at Charles to find that he is staring at the exact same point in what would be empty table for anyone who wasn’t seeing Mickey as he was.

“Well sure, Riku, there are lots of things ya don’t know about me. They just haven’t come up.” The King stated, “But never mind that now, Riku, I’m really worried about you. I understand taking your responsibilities as a Keyblade Master seriously, but ya can’t keep running yourself into the ground like this, it’s no good for anybody.”

Riku lowered his gaze at this, knowing exactly what Mickey meant- he was afraid that if he continued to use the darkness as he had been, that it would consume him. “I’ve been managing it alright so far.” He said quietly.

“And I trust you, Riku.” Mickey replied sincerely, “Heck, if I didn’t, I’d have you take a Gummi Ship like Sora and Kairi have to, but that’s not the point. Everyone needs a break now and then, darkness or no. I hate to say this, but to me, you’re showing parallels with the Heartless; trying to fill a void in your heart with something you know can never begin to compensate for it.”

“You are a telepath.” Riku mumbled, feeling rather betrayed in his trust for King Mickey, because those were private thoughts he was invading, and without Riku’s knowledge or consent.

Looking defeated, Mickey said, “You can be hard to read otherwise sometimes, Riku. And besides, it’s not like you make a huge secret out of how much you care for him.” A silence falls between them for a time before the king finally says, “Listen, Riku, I really have to go, but please think about what I’ve said. Think of it as a vacation. Heck, you might even find yourself a good sparring partner.”

Glancing around the room at the wheelchair-bound telepath, the two women who were normal as far as he could see, except the girl who could walk through walls, Riku mumbled to himself, “I somehow doubt that.”

“You’d be surprised at what our school has to offer.” Charles chimed in with a bright smile.

“Charles has been my friend for years, you can trust him with anything, Riku. He’ll take good care of ya. I wouldn’t leave ya in the hands of somebody I didn’t trust an awful lot.” Mickey said, then he seemed to be startled by something and added hastily, “We’ll talk more later. Bye for now!” With this, the image disappeared, and the table was left as bare as it had been previously.

Charles looked patiently to Riku and said, “If you’d like, I can show you to our training facility; the Danger Room.”

“The Danger Room?” Riku questioned. It was an absurd name, but maybe it would at least help him blow off some steam.

“Sure, I’ll take you there.” Kitty offered, hopping off of the counter she had been perched on and leading Riku down into a basement unlike any Riku had seen before. It was all high-tech and cold steel, nothing like the rest of the manor, which seemed rather warm and inviting in spite of it’s size. “Here we are. Oh, but it looks like someone is already in there. Strange for this hour.” Kitty murmured, first looking at the settings, then up at the window that viewed the inside of the room. She watched as Logan slashed through the guns with ease and sighed, “I guess we really upset him, talking about Scott.”

“Is it okay if I just go in there?” Riku asked.

“Well, I mean, you can… Since it’s Logan. Even if he gets startled and ends up getting shot, he’ll heal, but normally you should wait until the other person or people are done. Really, I wouldn’t recommend you go in anyway. He’s got it on some pretty intense settings, and the Danger Room will compensate if it senses someone in there with him.” Kitty warned.

“He’s getting shot and stabbed all the time. It doesn’t even slow him down.” Riku commented, watching Logan.

“He has a high pain tolerance.” Kitty said, shrugging.

Curious, Riku murmured, “He said he died once before… What did he mean by that?”

Kitty’s expression turned pitiful as she said, “It’s not something we’re supposed to know about.”

“But you do?”

“Logan talks in his sleep.” Kitty confessed, “He… Was used once in an experiment. The experiment made all of his bones into adamantium… Or maybe gave them an adamantium shell? He wasn’t too clear on that. Anyway, the experiment was excruciatingly painful, even for someone with his pain tolerance, and it killed him for a short while, but somehow, maybe his healing factor, he was able to come back.”

“Why would he even sign up for something like that?” Riku wondered aloud.

“Who knows? He doesn’t even remember now, with the whole amnesia thing.” Kitty replied, “But between the adamantium skeleton and his healing factor, he’s virtually indestructible.”

The door opened suddenly and Logan grumbled at Kitty, “Quit talking shit about me,” though there was no real malice behind it.

He started to leave, but Riku asked, “Uh, Logan? Can we take on the Danger Room together?” Logan turned back and gave him a strange look, at which Riku reiterated, “It would be good for us to learn to work together. If Heartless really do come here, I’ll most likely be the one to respond to the call, so…”

“Fine.” Logan relented. “You’re going to have to do the settings, though. I don’t know what heartless are like.”

With some difficulty, and Kitty talking him through it, Riku managed to start a simulation of heartless swarming the mansion, and he and Logan entered the room.

Riku fought off the Heartless effortlessly with Way to the Dawn, but Logan, not used to such small opponents, had to be rescued a few times (though he never seemed particularly grateful for it- if anything he looked more annoyed than ever when Riku helped him. After a while, though, he managed to get into a zone where he was comfortable enough fighting the little things. “I didn’t expect them to be so small.”

“Don’t judge the strength of your opponent by size.” Riku chastised.

“I wasn’t judging, I’m just saying they’re smaller than I expected.” Logan corrected as he fought off another Heartless that was straying from the pack.

Eventually, the room was cleared of all heartless, and the simulation ended. “You’re not too bad with that thing. Where did it come from, anyway?”

“What, my Keyblade?” Riku asked, glancing down at it before dismissing it. “I can summon and banish it at will.”

“Isn’t that convenient.” Logan mumbled, his claws retracting.

“Well, what about you? Where did those claws go?” Riku asked.

“Inside me, obviously. They’re a part of my mutation.” Logan said, glancing down at his hands.

“So does the Keyblade, in a way.” Riku said, watching him as he asked, “Does it hurt? Using your claws, I mean.”

“Not as bad as it hurts for the other guy.” Logan snorted, looking down at his hands, “They have to break through my skin to come out, so of course they hurt some, but I’m used to it.”

They stood in the Danger Room in silence for a time before Riku finally said, “You know, you’re really not a bad guy. You’ve just been through a lot in your life.”

Logan visibly stiffened at this, “I guess the Professor was talking about me too, huh?”

“Don’t be mad at him, it was nothing I couldn’t have figured out on my own, anyway.” Riku said with a slight shrug, “They were just all agreeing that you’ve changed since your friends died.”

“Not all of them are dead. Rouge just lost her powers. A while back, a serum surfaced to cure mutations, and she went for it.” Logan corrected.

“...What was her power?” Riku asked curiously.

“To temporarily steal the power of anyone else, mutant or human.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad…”

“What do you know about it?” Logan mumbled, “She didn’t have control over it. She probably could have learned to with help from Chuck, but she didn’t hang around to find out.”

Riku raised a brow at this, “What do you mean she didn’t have control over it?”

“I mean every time she touched someone with her bare hands, she drained the life out of them.” Logan clarified, “It’s saved her life a few times, taking my power to regenerate, but…” He started for the door, “Whatever, it was her choice, like the Professor keeps saying. It doesn’t matter what I think of it.” With this, he left Riku alone in the room to contemplate the terrifying beauty of mutations.

Later that evening, the two met up again when dinner was served. Logan didn’t seem particularly pleased to see Riku, and asked, “I thought you were leaving once you regained your strength?”

“I was going to, but my King- King Mickey- talked me into staying for a while.” Logan grunted in response to that, but Riku persisted, “Did you know Professor Xavier has been having telepathic conversations with King Mickey all this time?”

“I can’t say it surprises me. He attracts all sorts of strange creatures.” Logan mumbled.

Choosing to ignore the jab at his king, Riku said, “It just surprises me that they’re able to do that across literal worlds.”

“Don’t underestimate Chuck. He’s more powerful than he looks.” Logan warned. He was able to suppress part of Jean’s powers, along with her alter-ego, Phoenix, for years before it showed any signs of faltering. Of course, by the time she came out again, it was too late to do anything, but…”

Riku frowned, and it was clear to him that Logan wanted to end the conversation there, but he asked, “What were her and Scott’s powers?”

Logan shot him a glare before dismissing himself from the meal, but Storm was happy to answer his question, “Jean was a telekinetic, and Scott could shoot lasers out of his eyes. Scott had no control over it. If his eyes were open, they were shooting the lasers, but the Professor designed a special pair of glasses that, when worn, prevented him from doing any damage to his surroundings.”

“Even Jean, when she first came to us, had very little control over her power. She was… unstable, which is why I had to put the barrier in her brain that kept her from unleashing her true potential, and Phoenix. The fact that I did that is still a sore subject for Logan, he believes she should have been given a choice in the matter, but what he fails to understand is that under Phoenix’s influence, Jean’s choice would not have been her own.” Charles added.

“Sorry, I never caught your name.” Riku said to the white-haired woman.

“My name is Ororo, but you may call me Storm. This is Kitty- Shadowcat, and Bobby- the Ice Man, and over there is Piotr- Colossus, and the hairy blue guy is Hank- Beast.” Storm introduced.

“I’m Riku. It’s nice to meet you all, and thank you for having me here.” Riku said, trying to memorize all of the names and faces.

“Any friend of Mickey’s is a friend of ours.” Charles said with that same creepy, insincere smile that he had worn the day prior. Riku was beginning to wonder if that was actually just the way he smiled, but the fact that he had spoken of his king so casually threw him off.

“I think I’m going to excuse myself for the night as well, if you don’t mind.” Riku said, and, after Charles gave his consent, the boy retired to his room.

**Author's Note:**

> A "humble" beginning. Riku was thinking about Sora and Logan about Scott at the end there, not sure if that was clear. Please comment!


End file.
